Top 7 Dangers When Camping Alone (With Protection Tips)

Camping alone is definitely not safe, not one bit. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid doing it at all costs.

But what you should be doing is taking precautions every time you do embark on your own spiritual journey into the wilderness.

You have to remember that you are completely alone, so there is nobody there to help you if you get injured or if a bear decides to attack you.

I’m here to provide you with all the dangers of camping alone, how to prevent them from happening to you and what you can do if you actually get hurt when you are out on your own solo journey.

I hope you enjoy it!

The Dangers You Risk Running Into

Rolling An Ankle

Rolling an ankle can literally happen anywhere. But if you roll your ankle while you’re out camping by yourself, you have to know how to handle the situation in a calm and relaxing manner.

Do not shout, stress out, and/or get angry, because that won’t help you one bit. All it will give you is a bad camping experience – one you won’t want to take ever again.

Breaking An Arm Or A Leg

Even worse, you run the risk of breaking an arm leg, or even a leg arm if you’re really unlucky.

You need to have a backup plan in the event that you do break your leg when you are out and alone.

If you read the story in the link, you’ll soon realize that it’s VERY possible to break your leg, which is why you need to always be careful when you’re camping by yourself. But more on that in a minute.

Fending Off An Attacker (Humans and Animals)

Humans

It’s possible to come across another human, and he/she may try to attack you (especially if you’re a female). Although unlikely, it is still possible.

You need to know how to defend yourself, no excuses.

But before a violent encounter begins, it’s always best to talk your way out of a situation before anything does happen.

Animals

I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, you need to look larger and more scarier than the attacking predator (legs wider than usual, stand tall, wave arms, and be loud).

Once the animal sees that you aren’t going to back down, there’s a higher chance for it to run in the opposite direction.

Humans are advanced creatures (due to our abilities to use tools, of course), so you need to use that to your advantage.

If you grab a stick to wave around, that would be very useful. But don’t grab one really fast, that might cause the animal to charge.

If something DOES attack you, always go for the sensitive areas, such as the eyes and nose! Punches work well, otherwise a stab to the nose or eye with your knife works wonders, too. This will definitely make it run away.

However, if it’s a bear, there are a lot of considerations to figure out before you just “go for it”. I teach you exactly how to defend yourself against a bear here.

Animals Taking And Eating Your Food

This is a biggie.

Animals can smell food from a mile away, and oftentimes they mistake fragrant products for food.

So if you have any type of food or fragrance in your tent, you run the risk of a hungry bear, or even wolf, coming into your tent and helping itself.

It’s even worse when it’s nighttime and you’re sleeping! It’s not worth taking risks with nature.

Eating The Wrong Plants (Don’t Do It)

Even if you THINK you know what plants you are eating, it is best to avoid doing it at all costs, unless you’re a professional of course. But then that’s a different story.

If you are unsure on what the plant or berry is, then just leave it alone. Getting home is more important than taking risks.

Accidentally Starting A Wildfire

There is an extremely low chance for this to happen, but it is 100% possible, which is why I decided to include it in this list.

Always clear the area where you’ll be starting your campfire (remove ALL forest duff, leaves, sticks, etc), know the fire laws in your region, and be sure to always take precautions when you spark up that first match.

Catching An Illness

Personal hygiene is a biggie here, as there is SO many illnesses we can catch.

We have a higher chance than animals of catching a disease, simply because our immune system isn’t as strong as theirs.

When handling food, always wash your hands, and often!

Shower straight after swimming in a lake or river, don’t drink any water that looks dirty, keep protected from bugs, etc.

Is It Still Worth Going Camping Alone?

Of course it is.

Taking into consideration that you already know what you are doing in the wilderness (from being an avid camper), then the dangers should come as no surprise to you anyway.

As long as you’re taking precautions every second of the day (and night) that you’re out there, then your chances of getting hurt will be MUCH lower, and the chances of having a successful solo mission will dramatically increase 🙂

Basically, the benefits you’ll gain from completing a successful solo trip will heavily outweigh the small chance of having an injury or getting an illness, is what I’m saying.

ALWAYS Tell Someone You Can Trust

More often than not when we do go on our own camping trip, we fail to tell anyone.

If you do get injured while you’re out there, you’ll be left to suffer. There will be NO rescue team coming to save you since you didn’t tell anyone.

Leave a close family member or friend with the details of your trip – where you’re going and how long you’ll be going for. This is a must!

How To Decrease Your Chances Of Getting Hurt

First Aid Kit

A first aid kit should always be on you. Whether you’re out exploring the surrounding areas of your campsite, or just getting dinner ready, you need to have a first aid kit close at hand.

This means if you’re exploring, always have it in your backpack.

If you suddenly burn yourself as you’re preparing dinner, it should be easy to grab so you can put some ointment on the affected area.

Not only that, but there are a wide range of other injuries that can happen to you as well, which is all the more reason to be prepared for the unknown!

Wear Protective Clothing

Wear thick clothing to help protect yourself in the event that you do injure yourself, fall down a cliff, or get bitten by a wild animal.

You won’t get scratched up as much if you do happen to fall, and an animal will have a much harder time piercing your skin if it tries to bite you.

If you want the best protection, keep your clothes layered.

Protective clothing will also stop you from getting bitten by bugs, ESPECIALLY life-threatening ones! And yes, there ARE some out there.

Use A Saw Instead Of A Hatchet

Basically, if you can avoid using a big-ass hatchet, then do it!

It’s just too risky to use, as it’s possible to cut your hand. In more cases than not, an injury with a hatchet almost always ends in needing medical care.

Don’t be another statistic, and do the “grown up” thing 🙂 Take a saw instead.

Always Watch Where You Walk

There’s a good reason why they say the wilderness is an unpredictable place, and that’s because it really is.

Rocks can be slippery even when they don’t look like it, there can be snakes behind shrubs or under vegetation, a bear or wolf could be sitting right around the corner from you (but more on that in a second).

Just be careful with every step you take.

You don’t know if you’re about step into a fire ants nest unless you look, correct? All the more reason to see where you’re stepping.

Fire ants are not what you want to mess with.

Be Prepared For All Types Of Weather

Bring a rain coat at the very least. Otherwise, don’t hesitate in bringing full wet-weather gear if you have the space for it.

I’ve said it time and time again – rainstorms CAN happen in the middle of summer. It’s just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Trust me, you do not want hypothermia!

Bring Extra Food And Water

This should be obvious.

If you lose what you already have, you are left with nothing.

This is why you should definitely consider taking extra food and water.

You don’t know if you’ll get lost or if a wild animal is going to get into your only food source. So extra food and water is a MUST if you want to be on the safe side.

Man Vs Beast

You don’t know if an animal or creature is holding a disease, and you don’t know if they are poisonous or even deadly.

They could be sick, we just don’t know, which is why we simply can not risk getting close and personal with any of them.

Don’t turn over rocks or tree stumps, always look where you grab, and ALWAYS let animals know you are in the area.

How And Why?

By singing in a calm manner, talk fairly loudly to yourself, or even whistle. They all work.

Trust me, you do NOT want to startle a hungry grizzly bear or a wolf by “accidentally” giving it a fright.

The moment you give it a fright is the moment you may be fighting for your life!

It’s best to let them know you’re in the area so they can hear you and go in the opposite direction. They want to avoid you as much as you want to avoid them.

Final Thoughts

There’s so many risks involved when going on a solo camping trip. But that’s why you need to be experienced in this field BEFORE you try it out on your own.

Camp with your friends and family FIRST, and not just once, but many times before you know the ins and outs to wilderness living.

When you do that, your chances of having an injury or catching an illness will be much lower, since you’ll be more experienced.

And if something does happen to you when you’re out camping with others, at least you’ll have people to come to your aid.

I live in Canada and we have a lot of outdoor wilderness tours around my area. They teach a lot of what was mentioned in your post as far as survival goes in the wilderness. I once went camping and made the mistake of leaving cooked potatoes out for the raccoons to smell and come steal on me. Good write up, thanks for the write-up.

So basically, don’t startle a grizzly bear! ok, good to know…ha
I go hiking quite a bit but not really camping so much. I’ve done it a few times…This was a good list of points to consider ahead of time and like you said, further trouble can be avoided if you’re prepared.

Exactly my point Steven. If you’re prepared right from the get-go, you’ll have a much better camping/hiking trip. Don’t underestimate the power of being PREPARED. It can mean the difference between life and death – literally!

The tip about singing in a calm manner but loud enough manner is fantastic, I was reading down the page thinking my goodness, bears, wolves, and thought what the heck, and then go to the part about singing…also makes you feel a bit better having a song and takes your mind of other things.

I am also amazed about the defending yourself against a bear section you have authored….

Haha, yes. Bears and wolves, you definitely don’t want to come across them on your morning hike! Whistling and singing does the trick 99% of the time. But of course, there’s always one wild animal that doesn’t want to follow the rules, and that’s when you have to scare it away the best that you can.

Because if you RUN, it brings on a chase, and we all know what happens in the wilderness when predators chase things, their intentions are to kill!

Wow, after reading this post im scared to go camping altogether now lol. I’m kidding of course, but this is an excellent list of things to keep in mind when venturing out into the great outdoors. I am not much of a camper, and this post reaffirms why, although in Northwest Ohio I wouldnt have to worry about the bears or snakes which would be a plus. Great information!

My idea of camping is finding a nice lodge in the woods… ha ha ha ha. No seriously, I’ve always thought that the dangers far out weigh the joys for me, having said that you never know when you might be in a situation where you “have” to camp. So, your post is very relevant and helpful, I never really thought about rolling over stones or picking up wood. I imagine everyone would pick up wood for fires, and if you do it at night you can’t see what’s underneath… so collecting fire would seems to be better during the day! 🙂 with thick gloves! HA HA HA
Thanks for the post.

This post reminds me of the movie Back Country. Don’t know if you have seen it but it showed a couple’s quite horrific encounter with a grizzly. The man vs beast part was the biggest take away for me. I’m from Australia so we don’t get many bears down here. In reality, how common are grizzly encounters when camping?

This is a great post! I have always done camping in a group and never dared to go camping alone. For me, the thing that scares me the most would be snakes. As I am from Australia we don’t see bears but they do sound very scary. Definitely not something that I would want to see by myself in the bush! I also really like the idea of singing. I may try singing in other nervous situations to calm myself down too!

Yes, snakes. I fear them quite a bit as well since you can’t see them a lot of the time. You’re lucky you don’t have bears, but I know Australia has MANY other wild animals that you should fear. You should know this firsthand being from Australia, lol 🙂

And yes, coming across a bear is EXTREMELY scary. It’s best to speak to them in a calm manner to avoid confusing it or getting it angry.

Wow, I just read the story in the link. Luckily they came out alive. Especially at 13 years old, they would find it incredibly difficult to defend themselves if they came across wild animals or a murderer.

Such an interesting read here, never did think of the many dangers we could have encountered on camping trips, and also thanks for the tips on how to handle each of them, these are so useful! I think it’s time for me to plan a a trip soon. Thanks!

Yes, let them know you are in the area so you to don’t surprise them. When you give them a fright, it’s really hard to get out of the situation. Because they want to avoid us, it’s a much better idea to be loud so they can hear us and run in the opposite direction. Hope that makes sense 🙂

Not sure I want to go camping alone after reading about animals smelling my food from China…being a city girl and all. However, you have some really good tips about camping. My question is, if I do decide to go camping by my lonesome, how long would you consider the norm? I love camping, but I have never been camping for more than one night. You provided some really useful tips on camping alone, but most of these tips are general information that any camper should follow to stay safe and to have a good camping experience.

If you’re considering going camping alone for your first time, it is really up to you to be totally honest with you. It all depends on how much you can take (mentally). But if I had to give you a straight answer, it will be one night only.

This will help you understand if you like it or not. If you don’t like it, then you can just leave in the morning anyway. But if you do, then the next time you plan your trip you can pack for 2-3 nights if you want to.

Very good information and well thought out. The only thing I wonder about is where do you take a shower after swimming in a lake in the wilderness? 😉 I am an avid camper and really enjoyed this article. You covered all aspects. Thank you!

And even if you have an RV, then you could use that, otherwise you could just RINSE yourself off with water you brought. Even just a quick rinse will be better than just sitting there with all those germs on you.

This is a great article about camping alone, I need to forward this to my cousin who’s 24 and want to do something like this. I want to warn him of the potential dangers and your post will give him some great pointers on how to combat those dangers.

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Who Am I? And Why Camping?

My name is Brandon and I enjoy camping. I have camped for years and consider myself a master in this field. Throughout this site you will find things that I enjoy posting and I think you will benefit from too. Enjoy!